


As Long As You're Mine

by blondeblackwidow



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-27
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-03-26 02:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3833434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blondeblackwidow/pseuds/blondeblackwidow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two years after The Sacrifice, the heat is on Elsa to find a suitor and produce an heir as well as keep her kingdom afloat. Her rule runs smoothly in Arendelle until she receives a strange letter. The strange letter binds together two strangers as unlikely friends and ignites a series of adventures that change the both of them for good.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Letter

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I just want to say thank you for reading this! As Long As You're Mine is my first fanfic that I am publishing on AO3. This story will develop into very graphic situations, so if you are not into reading smut or very graphic sex, I would encourage you to not continue to read this series. I've had this story in my mind for a long time and I would like to thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave me comments and notes.
> 
> Everyone in this story is over the age of eighteen.

Elsa had just gotten out of the Royal Ball. It was her second year as Queen of Arendelle and her family, namely Anna, had thrown her a ball. Everything still seemed new: the control on her magic, the open gates, the open doors, and most of all, all the talking that came from being Queen. All eyes were on her to find a suitor, to advance the reign by having an heir. Nothing had scared Elsa more than the day her royal advisor came into her library and told her she must find a suitor within the next decade. She wasn’t comfortable talking to the staff, outside of Kai and Gerta, or even her advisors. How could she potentially find someone she was compatible with and then marry him? Every time she thought about it, the room dropped in temperature a few degrees. She had danced with every male around her age at the ball but had left after the last note of the last dance. She couldn’t take it. She didn’t like dancing and she surely didn’t like dancing with all the foreign dignitaries. 

Elsa walked down the main hall of the castle, trying to regulate her breathing and stop the ice from forming in her palms. She wanted to find love like her sister Anna or her cousin Rapunzel, the kind that was found on accident. The idea of an arranged marriage didn’t seem appealing to her. She thought back to everyone in the ballroom, to her sister happily dancing with her husband, Kristoff. She sighed and realized that love was most likely not in the cards for her. Elsa reached the end of the hall and looked up at the painting of her parents. 

“Did you love each other?” she thought to herself. They looked so happy in every painting she saw in the castle. They were so happy and loving to Anna and her. She had a hard time thinking that their marriage was arranged. She was about to start talking to them when she heard the ballroom door open. 

“Anna, please, I don’t want to go back in there. You know how I get around too many people…” she said without turning around. 

“Well, how about just one, then?” a familiar voice spoke, after softly closing the door to the ballroom. Elsa turned around quickly at his voice. 

“Hans…?” she whispered. “Anna didn’t see you and punch you in a mad rage? Kristoff didn’t try and kill you? How did you make it here?” 

______________________________________________________________________________

The relationship between Elsa and Hans had been strained to say the least. Two years ago, he tried to murder her and her sister. She could have tried him for attempted murder. She could have thrown him in the dungeon. She didn’t though. There was something about him that she couldn’t wrap her head around. She felt like she could understand him, but she didn’t know why. He seemed misguided and hurt. As he was thirteenth in the line for the throne, she could see why he was a little misguided. But there was something more. She couldn’t put her hand on it, but she felt akin to him. Because of this feeling, she pardoned him. 

This pardon angered most of Arendelle, as well as Anna who couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that her sister thought her attempted murderer shouldn’t be punished. The decision was not a popular one in Arendelle and Elsa was still not hearing the end of it two years later. She pulled her kingdom out of an economic crisis after she severed connections with Weaseltown by forming a partnership with Corona, her cousin’s kingdom. Even with this and everything else her family had done for the kingdom, it seemed as though they couldn’t get over the fact that she let Hans go. The Southern Isles had done everything they could to apologize on behalf of the royal family, even sending Hans back to Arendelle to formally apologize to the queen and the princess of Arendelle. 

A little less than a year after The Sacrifice, Elsa personally heard from Hans. The parchment his letter was written on was burnt around the edges. His handwriting looked like it was written quickly and forcibly on the parchment. 

_Elsa,_ She noticed there was no “Queen” in front of it, unlike most letters she received.

_I need your help. Things have not been going so well in the Southern Isles. I shall explain further when I come to the ball for your anniversary as Queen. Thank you once more for the pardon. I did not deserve it but I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will always be indebted to you and your kindness. I shall see your majesty soon._

_Hans_

Elsa inspected the letter. There were char marks around the edges and one in the center of the page right where his hand would have lain while signing his name. She looked at the page once more, feeling the sense of familiarity. She wound the parchment up and stuck it in her sleeve. Anna couldn’t find this. She had to take it to her royal chambers before Anna found it. She hurriedly walked down the hall and turned to run up the staircase. Elsa turned and bounced off Anna, who was sliding down the bannister. The force caused Elsa to fall and the scroll to fall out of her sleeve. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Are you alright? I mean, I know you’re not alright, but are you okay? Are you hurt?” Anna ran over to Elsa, over apologizing to her. Anna stopped talking the second she saw the parchment scroll. 

“Elsa, what is this?” Anna held the scroll in her hand, investigating the outside until she saw the seal. “Elsa. Can you please explain why you have a scroll from the Southern Isles? Is it from Hans or is it one of his stupid brothers? Do you remember what he did to me? Why do you have a scroll from the Southern Isles? Elsa…?” Anna trailed off from her attack of questions after she felt a dip in the temperature of the room. She knew not to ask any more about the scroll if Elsa’s magic was making the stairwell get unpleasantly cold. “Elsa, are you okay?”

Elsa got up from the floor and brushed herself off. “Anna, please…” she pleaded. Anna saw the look on her sister’s face, the look of pure pain and agony. She knew whatever was going on, it was something important to Elsa. Anna started to back away from Elsa. “Please, don’t shut me out again, Elsa.” she pleaded, walking away.

She got up to her chambers, opened the door, and looked around for a place to hide the scroll. Scanning the room, she found her mother’s wooden jewelry chest. “Perfect”, she thought to herself. Elsa kept her crown in the chest and Anna never went in there. It was the perfect place. If Anna saw her looking in the chest, she would think Elsa was just looking at her crown. She pulled out the key to the chest and placed the scroll inside. The ball was in a few short weeks. Hans would be in Arendelle. What sort of problems was he having? Elsa was growing curious to see what was going on with the thirteenth Prince of the Southern Isles.


	2. The Flame

Chapter Two: The Flame

The weeks seemingly flew by as the whole castle prepared for Elsa’s first anniversary as queen. Elsa was forbidden to do anything, so she spent the days in the library or walking in the royal gardens and forest. She had to keep her mind off of Hans’ letter and what could be possibly going on with him and his family in the Southern Isles. After her fifth walk through the gardens, Elsa got an idea for a little trip that would get the ball off her mind. She ran back to the castle to tell Anna what she planned on doing.

“The ice castle? You’re not planning on running away, are you? I mean, I don’t see why you would… Your powers are under control. Everything seems to be fine. Are you nervous for the ball? It’ll be totally different from the last one! I won’t be getting engaged at this one and there will be no eternal winter or running away. You aren’t planning on running away, right?”

“Anna, I would never leave you. You’re my sister and the only family I have. I just figured that because you didn’t want me around when you’re preparing for the ball, I could head up to the North Mountain and check up on my castle. It’s been at least six months since the last time I was there. I miss it a little bit.” Elsa said, yearning to see her finest handiwork. 

“But what about the cold up there? I know it’s warm down here, but it’s so cold up there. Are you going to be okay?” Anna said, afraid her sister would take off like the last time the ice castle was created. 

Elsa laughed. “Anna, the cold doesn’t bother me. I’ll be fine and be back by night.”

Elsa grabbed some food from the kitchen, wrapped it in a cloth, and ventured outside of the castle gates to the North Mountain. She ran through the number of repairs she had done to the ice castle the last time she was there: the chandelier, the doors and balcony, the staircase. It seemed like everything had been broken in the fight to save her own life. Hans almost killed her a year ago, why was he coming to her for help? Did he honestly think that she could help him? Those thoughts haunted her until she reached the staircase of the ice castle.

Hans would be coming to Arendelle that day. If he wanted to be alone, she would take him to her castle. She had the upper hand there. Also, Marshmallow was there and he would protect her. She looked up to see the snowman grinning at her. Elsa said hello and ran up the stairs. All the little brothers she made for Olaf when she was sick had disappeared, they seemed to be a side-effect of the cold she experienced. She looked up at the doors of the castle, the beauty of the fractals overwhelming her yet again. She excitedly threw open the doors and stepped inside the castle. Elsa gazed up at the ceiling of the vast entryway, walking around in a slow spin, trying to find anything that she could add on. She could add some sconces but then that would take away from the beauty and grandness of the stark entrance hall. She would also have to add a way to keep the castle warm for Anna. Anna had been asking to come to the castle for some time, but it was too cold. She would surely freeze if she was in the castle for more than an hour.

Elsa climbed up the stairs to the second floor. It looked empty, too empty. The last times she had been there had been too sad. Focusing on the chandelier, she thought back to the last time that Hans had been in the castle with her, the night she almost died, the night she almost let him kill her. She had moved past that, though the night still haunted her through nightmares. Elsa shuddered, trying to knock the memories from her mind. She stared out into the emptiness of the chambers. What could she put there? She swiftly cracked her knuckles and rolled her wrists. Realizing she might be there for a while, Elsa created a small snow chair for her to rest on if she got tired.

Elsa stood and admired her icy handiwork. There was now a bed in the middle of the room with a sleigh bed frame. It was missing a mattress but she could travel down to Oaken’s and get one later. A giant icy armoire was against the back wall and a table with two over sized snow and ice chairs sat to the left of the bed. She dropped on her snow chair, the snow compressing under her, cradling her from the hard icy base. Hans would be in Arendelle the next day, she realized. As she ate, she thought about what Hans needed from her. Something was wrong in the Southern Isles. It couldn’t have been trade, her advisers would have warned her about that, and they would send Hans' oldest brother to negotiate. It couldn’t be military forces, there was no war going on. It had to have been a personal problem, but what could it be?

Her mind was running and running when she decided to go down to Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna. She opened the door of the shop to see Oaken and his family in the sauna. “Yooo hooo!” they all called out. Oaken got out from the sauna and ran to the trading post, happy to see that the queen was at his shop once again. 

“Yoo hoooo, Queen Elsa!” Oaken exclaimed. Elsa cringed when he called her queen. It had been a year, but the title didn’t seem any less foreign to her. 

“Hi Oaken!” She exclaimed. 

“What would you be interested in, Queen? Bits, clogs, a sun balm of my own invention?” They shared a laugh as Oaken showed off the sun balm. 

“No, I’m just here to buy a mattress. For my castle.” 

“Okay! If you need anything, give me a yodel.” Oaken said, smiling at the queen who was carrying the mattress and dragging it over to the counter. She dropped the payment on the counter and started hauling it out the door, not realizing that she could freeze the bottom of the mattress and it would skate around on the ground. 

After she got halfway up the North Mountain, she realized just what she could do and promptly took care of the mattress. Elsa wiped the sweat off of her forehead and threw her braid behind her back, trying to do anything that would keep the heat away. She reached the castle and called out for Marshmallow, trying to get him to carry the mattress into her new bedroom area. Marshmallow complied and placed the mattress in the bed frame. After the mattress was taken care of, Marshmallow went back down to guard the castle and wait for anything else that Elsa wanted. She laid down on the mattress and closed her eyes for a few moments, savoring the feeling of it.

Nearly jumping out of bed, Elsa awoke to a loud clanging noise. She paused to see if it would repeat. When it did, Elsa realized what the loud clanging was and shouted a few choice curse words to herself. Running down the stairs and out of the castle, she wished that she had the magic ability to teleport instead of the ability to control ice and snow. She was going to be late for her own ball. She had only been queen for a year, she couldn’t start being late now. Five feet outside the castle, Elsa remembered that she could control the ice and snow and that the North Mountain was covered in the stuff. 

With a gleeful smile on her face, she stamped her foot in the snow, creating a thin sheet of ice that grew until it reached the bottom of the snow. The next thing she created was a sled out of ice. Elsa jumped on the sled and started sliding down the mountain. As the sled began to pick up speed, Elsa began to laugh and smile. It was rare to see her so happy from the same magic that almost killed her sister twice, but feeling the wind in her hair was far too great to not be happy. 

Fifteen minutes later, she was at the castle gates, looking windblown and unkempt. She looked behind her and quickly thawed the sled and the sheet of ice heading down from the North Mountain. She ran inside the castle, dodging the staff, and a few of the guests. Elsa reached the door frame of her room and turned in, hoping to not run into Anna. She went to run into her room but ran into an Anna instead. 

“Anna…” She started to greet her sister.

“Elsa, where were you? You were almost late. I was scared you left again. You’re never late. I thought you left me. I thought after all this time, you closed the door again.” Anna’s eyes were beginning to well with tears.

“Anna, Anna. Listen to me. I just fell asleep at my castle. I wasn’t going to leave you. I’m never closing that door again. I just fell asleep, Anna. I’m sorry I scared you.”

Anna’s face softened and she got a mischievous gleam in her eyes. She grabbed Elsa’s hand, pulling her to the dressing room between their two rooms, the one their parents were planning to install until they decided to guard Anna from Elsa’s powers. Anna looked so gleeful and excited that Elsa couldn’t help but laugh and smile. 

“Tada!” Anna said, looking at a mannequin and then again at Elsa back and forth just like she did with Kristoff and his new sled. “Do you like it?” Elsa was awestruck. She was looking at the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. It was the same color of the dress she was wearing, but when she touched it, she realized it wasn’t made of ice. The fabric felt light and airy, not cold like her ice. She realized it mimicked the dress she wore since she let go of what everyone else thought of her. She needed to try it on. 

“Anna, I… I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say. Thank you. It’s beautiful.” Elsa stood in the dress, looking in the grand floor length mirror. The dress was made of fine silk, the same aqua color as the dress she wore everyday. The bodice of the dress was made up of aqua colored silk shining above a delicate sheer white netting. The bodice melded into the skirt, flowing down to the floor. She stared at the v-neck the netting created, at the tiny crystals on the bodice, and at the way it made her look lovely and regal, but still reminded her that she was herself. The variation on the ice dress was welcome. 

“How do I look?” she asked Anna nervously. 

“You look beautiful, but like more beautiful than beautiful. Beautifuller, but not like fuller…”

“Thank you.” Elsa said, smiling at her sister’s words, identical to a year ago.

“You look regal and stunning, Elsa. Every person at that ball is going to have their eyes on you. Well, they already would because you’re the Queen of Arendelle, but…”

Anna was cut off by Elsa giving her a huge hug. “Anna, I mean it. Thank you so much. It is honestly so lovely. I love it.” She couldn’t stop beaming. She looked absolutely radiant, smiling and gazing at the dress in the mirror. Elsa couldn’t believe something so beautiful could be on her or that it was hers to keep. Honestly, she was overwhelmed. 

“Here!” Anna exclaimed, handing Elsa a mask while Elsa fixed her hair into a quick updo. The ballroom was quite stuffy and the queen could not be seen sweating. That would be unbecoming of a queen, she thought as she was reminded of her mother’s teachings. She put the last pin in her hair and reached for the mask Anna held in her hands. It was covered in crystals and patterns of snowflakes, meant to match the dress she was currently dressed in. She pressed the mask to her face, affixed the ribbon in her hair, weaving the extra material in her updo. As she put the final strands of hair in place and fixed the ribbon, the bells in the clock tower rang out, alerting the sisters of Arendelle and the visiting royals that the ball was about to begin.

Anna grabbed Elsa’s hand and began to pull her out of the dressing room and Elsa’s bedroom. “Come on! Come on! Come on!” She exclaimed, running down the hallway and pulling Elsa behind her. Anna ran past Kai and Gerta with Elsa in tow.

“Kai! Gerta! Help me!” Elsa cried out in mock horror. 

“It’s just Princess Anna!” Kai shouted back.

“I don’t think we can do much of anything, Queen Elsa!” Gerta exclaimed. 

Elsa groaned as Anna pulled her down the stairs, almost causing her to rip her new dress. The pulling continued until they reached the Herald at the doors of the ballroom. The Herald opened the doors and announced their presence.

“May I present the Queen Elsa of Arendelle and her sister the Princess Anna of Arendelle.”

The whole room fell silent and stared at Elsa and Anna as they walked in the ballroom from the castle halls. Elsa assumed a regal air and corrected her posture, politely waving at everyone while she walked to her throne. Anna, on the other hand, was like a deer in the headlights, stumbling and waving awkwardly while she followed Elsa to the dais. 

“Thank you all for coming to the anniversary of my coronation, everyone. It seems as though we have people from all over here tonight, including my cousin Princess Rapunzel of Corona and her husband Prince Eu--- I mean Flynn of Corona. I am glad to see all of us together again. This time on a happy note and not because I accidentally froze my kingdom over in an eternal winter.” Anna and a few of the royals laughed at the little dig at herself.

“It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to Arendelle and to our ballroom to celebrate with my sister and me. It has been a tremendous year and I hope the rest of my rule is as tremendous. Thank you all for joining us tonight!” Elsa smiled, raising her champagne flute. 

“Long live Queen Elsa!” Anna cheered raising her flute.

“Long live Queen Elsa!” the ballroom cheered, smiling at the queen.

Anna disappeared in the crowd to find Rapunzel and Eugene. Elsa used that time to mix and mingle with the visiting royals. She flowed through the crowd, smiling as royals complimented her dress and thanking them when they wished her a long and healthy rule. She dodged her royal council who kept trying to find her so she could meet suitors. Elsa turned around to see where one of her pesky advisers was when she felt a bump from behind her. 

It was Hans.

“Hans?” she whispered. He lifted up his mask to show that it was in fact the prince from the Southern Isles that almost killed her and her sister. 

“What do you want?” she responded curtly, not in the mood for any of his tricks, but interested in what he had to explain. 

“Can we go somewhere a little bit more private?” Hans asked, looking around nervously.

“In half an hour, the clock tower will chime. Meet me outside the gates, near the port. We’re going to my castle.” 

“Thank you, Elsa. You won’t regret it. I promise.” he promised her. She held a laugh in. _I better not_ , she thought to herself.

Elsa ran into Anna, Kristoff and Olaf at the chocolate fondue fountain shortly after she arranged the meeting with Hans. Her sister looked to be pretty intoxicated with all the fondue she had ingested during the course of the party. Kristoff looked to be taking care of her sister, which made her smile. The love they shared was most certainly true. Anna was a lucky woman with someone like Kristoff to love. She whispered to Kristoff that she was going to her castle to get some air and have some alone time and that she would be back in the morning. 

Anna looked at her with a glaze of intoxication in her eyes. “Come back *hic* home *hic*, okay *hic*?” she pleaded Elsa.

Kristoff and Elsa shared a look. “I’ll be fine, Anna. I’ll be back in the morning. Kristoff is going to take care of you.” She gave her sister a quick hug and ran off to the port. _Hans was acting stranger than normal_ , she thought. 

The clock tower bells chimed, signaling the half hour that she gave Hans to meet her was over. She noticed Hans walking to the port, looking nervous. “Where are we going?” he asked Elsa. She pointed to her sister’s horse Kjekk and Hans’ horse Sitron, who were both tied up to a post on the pier. 

“Get on Sitron and follow me.” she commanded him, getting Kjekk into a cantor and then into a full gallop, keeping a steady pace to the North Mountain. 

She turned to see Hans beginning to freak out when he realized exactly where they were going. Elsa smiled and chuckled to herself. The terror in his eyes was evident as Sitron followed Kjekk at a breakneck pace up the mountainside, the castle becoming clearer and closer as time passed. The two reached the staircase leading to the castle. She looked up and saw the moonlight hitting the castle, giving it a sense of illumination and adding to its beauty. Hans, who had just finished tying Sitron up, also looked up at the castle and admired its beauty.

“It’s beautiful, honestly. You outdid yourself, Elsa.” Hans said to her, appreciating the beautiful sight in front of him. 

“Thank you. Oh by the way, it’s Queen,” she commented icily to him.

“You look beautiful tonight, QUEEN Elsa,” Hans complimented. 

Elsa turned around, ice crystals forming around her hands and fire in her eyes. “Don’t be an ass,” she said pointedly, “I am not afraid to use my magic and finish the job I was supposed to do.” She reached the doors of the castle and opened them. She looked behind her.

“Are you coming or not?” She called down from the doorway to Hans at the base of the staircase. He ran after her into the castle. 

“Where’s the giant snowmonster?” Hans asked timidly, looking around at the improvements Elsa had made to the castle in the past year. A fountain in the middle of the floor with flowing water was the most striking change. The fountain itself was not new, but the flowing water was. The calming sound of rushing water echoed off the walls of the castle. Elsa saw Hans visibly calm which calmed her in the process.

“Whenever I want him gone, he’s gone. Odds are he’s trying to find his older brother somewhere down on the castle grounds. He really does love Olaf, now that he knows they are related. It’s just you and me here tonight.”

“Good,” Hans said, the stress rolling off him.

“What do you mean good? Are you trying to make history repeat itself?” Elsa accused, holding her hands out. The ice crystals had already began to form in the air around her. 

“Woah! Woah! Woah! No, it’s just that the less people or uh monsters know about my secret, the better.”

Elsa dropped her hands. “Do you want to come upstairs then? Just in case anyone wants to come up to visit?” Her eyes followed the staircase up to the second floor, then back to him, giving him a questioning glance. 

“Yes, Elsa.” She rolled her eyes. _The title of queen is going to take a while to get used to, I see_ , she thought to herself. 

She led him upstairs, into the heart of the castle. The walls reflected an orange tint, showing her inner happiness and hesitance at letting Hans into the heart of the castle again. The room looked good for the handiwork she did just hours previously. He gasped behind her.

“Elsa, this is beautiful. Fit for a queen. You really do beautiful things with that magic of yours.” he said, walking around the room. He was visibly uncomfortable and trying to sweet talk her. What was his secret and why was he so nervous about letting her know?

“Thank you, Hans. Now, what was this secret that was so important that you couldn’t tell me in a letter? And why was the letter all scorched? What is wrong?”

She looked him in the eyes and saw the pain and the fear. She saw the hurt. It broke Elsa a bit on the inside. 

“Why did you have to tell specifically me? Why couldn’t your parents or brothers know? Why did I have to be the first one you told?”

While she was begging him to tell her why, Hans took off his gloves.

She made eye contact with him, and pleaded with him. 

“Hans, what is so wrong that you are so broken up inside?” she pleaded, her voice straining and cracking.

“This,” he whispered, looking down at the palms of his hands. 

Elsa’s eyes followed Hans’ down to the palms of his hands. It was then that she saw the flames tickling his palms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took me a while guys. I understand that it has been about a month and a half since I put the first chapter out, but I've had some personal stuff that I needed to sort through and real life got in the way. It's honestly been a pleasure to write this and hopefully I'll get chapter three out within the next two weeks!


	3. Ice and Fire

“This. This is what I wanted to show you, Elsa,” he said, his eyes looking for any sort of recognition in hers. Elsa started to back away from Hans slowly, flurries already forming around her. 

“Don’t come near me.” she pleaded. 

“Elsa, please…”

“Don’t.” 

Elsa continued to back up, her hands outstretched, ready to defend herself.

“Elsa!” He begged, reaching out to her. As he began to walk closer, he slipped on the ice floor and fell. His hands and the flames around them hit the floor, but to Hans’ surprise the impact and heat didn’t begin to melt it. He looked up at Elsa then back down at his palms and his hands quizzically. 

“Why didn’t the floor begin to melt? Why is the heat not affecting it?” 

Elsa began to approach Hans, her hand instinctively reached out towards him, ready to take his to lift him back to his feet. As he went to reach for her hand, she saw the fire still in his palms and pulled back, reflexively. 

“No… Don’t touch me!” she cried out, quickly backing away from him. 

“Stay away!” She saw the pain in his eyes as the flurries around her formed, providing her with a layer of protection.

What Elsa had failed to notice because of the blur of the flurries was Hans getting up and walking to her backside. The fire in his hands was still lit as he got closer and closer to her. She looked around frantically for him, fearing that this was exactly like last time except for one thing. She was going to die. 

Elsa turned quickly to see Hans touch her hand. The flames licked her hand and she looked up, surprised at him, the scream dying in her throat. 

It didn’t hurt.

It did not hurt at all.

There were no burns, no welts, no nothing. 

She slowly looked up at him as fear melted away to curiosity. She held her other hand out to him, observing both of his hands. Elsa noticed that there wasn’t a drastic change in temperature between Anna and Hans, he was just very slightly warmer. 

“You don’t feel like fire…” she muttered.

“You don’t feel like ice,” Hans quipped. 

“I don’t understand. How? Why? When?” she asked, trying to get some answers. She wanted to know everything about him, everything about these powers. 

"Are you sure you won't judge me?" Hans murmured, afraid. _That was a stupid question. She's got the same thing going on!_ He berated himself mentally for asking such a stupid question. 

Elsa shot him a look like he was an absolute idiot. 

"Sorry, Elsa. I'm just scared. I got these powers shortly after I visited the castle. I went back to Arendelle's castle after trying to find you and I must have gotten lost or something. I was alone and I didn't know where I was going, I stumbled into a rock formation with these heated steam jets. After I felt like I was burning up. I just felt like I was going to die. I wish I could tell you why I got these, maybe I was cursed to be alone and this was the kiss of death. Maybe the trolls saw the way I treated you and this is just retribution. I don't know why I acquired these powers, all I know is that I have them. If you don't want to help me, I'll just leave."

Hans looked hurt and broken and all alone. Elsa's heart was breaking as she remembered what it was like to grow up with her powers. 

_He looks broken, almost like a bird with a broken wing. He's so fragile._ She looked over to him and melted, remembering her own experience with her powers. She didn't want anyone to have to deal with that. 

"Alright, I'll help you learn to control them, but no one can know that I am helping you with these powers. Anna mustn't know that I'm helping the person that almost destroyed our kingdom. Kristoff and Sven would probably like to pummel you into the ground. My advisers would absolutely question my own sanity if they knew I was helping you. My whole life can fall apart if we aren't careful, but I can't stand by and watch you struggle the same way that I did. It's too painful." Elsa said, racking her brain for reasons as to why she wanted to go to her castle so often to get everyone off her back. 

_Royal balls? No. Diplomatic treaties? No. Surprises for Anna? No. The endless list of suitors? Hmmmm... That one might actually work._ She grinned to herself. 

"What is it? You look like you have an idea!" Hans said excitedly, closing the distance between the two of them.

"It might not work but every month, the advisers give me a long list of suitors and everything about them. I tend to choose who I'd like to meet and learn about their customs and kingdoms in my study, but I can claim that I'd like some space so they aren't breathing down my neck waiting for my choice. That's when I'll come up here and help you. You can write your father that you must stay in Arendelle to fix diplomatic relations and that it was a decree from Queen Elsa herself. Is it okay if we stay up here for a few days every month for me to help you? If not, I'm sure we'll find something else that works."

"Yes! Yes! Yes! That works perfectly! Thank you Elsa!" Hans exclaimed, throwing himself on Elsa, wrapping her in a tight embrace. She grimaced at the sudden added weight of him on her, but couldn't help but feel that she was about to embark on quite a personal journey.

"I'm so happy I could kiss you!" 

Before Elsa could protest, she felt the lips of Hans on hers. 

She broke out of the hug and pushed him off of her, looking visibly displeased.

"The first lesson is **control** , something you obviously haven't learned yet. You have to learn how to control yourself and your emotions before you can even begin to harness your own powers. If you do not do this, everything will fall apart and you will be left with nothing." She said, sternly, hoping that he took the hint.

Even though she was quite dismissive on the outside, the feeling of his lips on hers caused a warming energy to fill her. She smiled to herself and wished that maybe he was foolish enough to do it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, real life has gotten in the way. I bit off way more than I could chew in the past year, but I am back!!!!!


	4. The Fire Within

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I normally don't do this but this chapter goes out to one of my closest friends. There's a chunk of the end dialogue that is directly inspired by a conversation we had a while ago. I love you, E.
> 
> \- <3 blondeblackwidow

Elsa had gotten back to the Arendelle castle around four in the morning, the sleeplessness showing in her eyes even though she felt far too excited to sleep. She walked past Anna and Kristoff’s bedroom and stopped to see if Anna was asleep. Opening the door, she saw the body of Kristoff and became worried. Anna was nowhere to be seen. She quickly ran to the other side of the bed and saw Anna, completely asleep. Elsa let out a sigh of relief and Anna stirred in her bed. She panicked as her sister picked her head up and began to wake up.

“Anna, go back to sleep,” Elsa pleaded. “I’m home. Just go back to sleep. Nothing to see here, just me. Go to bed.”

“Where were you?” Anna asked, half-asleep. “Why do you smell like a man?” she asked as she got closer.

“I was at my castle, silly. I was with someone…” she explained.

_Oh shit. I should not have said that. I really should not have said that._ Elsa said, regretting her choice of words. She knew that the onslaught of questions was coming and she could not hide from Anna, she couldn’t shut her out again.

“Elsa, you were with a suitor?!?” Anna asked, a little too loud. She looked over the hulking mass of Kristoff to see if he was still asleep. He was. She quickly slipped out of the sheets, grabbed Elsa by the wrist and whisked the two of them out of the room and down to the library.

She closed the doors and pushed her body against them, panting. Elsa, nervous, decided to sit on the overstuffed bench along the picture window. 

“Sooooooo…” Anna began excitedly. “Who is he? Where is he from? He smells nice. Is he nice? Was he a gentleman? What does he look like? Is he handsome? Well, tell me!”

“Anna. Please calm down. Can you please sit down?” Elsa asked, trying to calm her overly excited sister down. 

“No! Elsa! Please! Tell me about him!” Anna was stubborn. She wouldn’t give this up, Elsa knew her too well. This was the same girl that knocked on her door every day for nineteen years.

“Is this because I didn’t tell you about Kristoff right away? Well, I tried but you were--”

“ItwasHans.” Elsa said quietly, but quickly.

“Oooooo! His name is Hans! That’s a lovely na- Wait. Hans? Like of-the-Southern-Isles Hans? Like almost killed us Hans? THAT Hans?” Anna asked, slowly getting angry.

“Anna. Wait. Please.” Elsa pleaded with her sister, trying to stop the slow burn.

“Why him? Do you even remember what he did to us? What he tried to do to you? He almost killed you and he killed me! Why were you with him, Elsa? What could have been so important that you forgot all of the pain he brought to this family? How much he hurt us. How could you just simply forget? What happened in that castle? How could you go there with him?”

Anna was pissed off. Elsa wasn’t surprised in the slightest. If she were any more mad, Elsa was sure she would pop. 

“Anna. He needed me.”

“Why? Why did he need you, Elsa? Did he want the crown again?”

“No.”

“Then what did he want?”

“Anna, he has powers. I couldn’t leave him alone. He reached out to me for help. I couldn’t let what happened to me happen to him. I needed to help him. I don’t expect you to understand but I couldn’t stand by and watch him become truly evil. Look where he came from. Look at the abuse. His brothers pretended he didn’t exist. What do you think would happen if I didn’t help him? Look what happened when people helped me, but the wrong way. You almost died. I hated myself. I wanted to die. I couldn’t let someone else shift down that same spiral.”  
Elsa looked up at Anna, whose rage faded away as the memories flew across her mind. She softened and looked at Elsa, sadly. 

“I understand. I may not like the man, but I understand. He hurt us, but you’re trying to eliminate that hurt. You’re just trying to help. I just hope that he doesn’t try to hurt you or our family ever again. If he does, he’s got me to deal with. And Kristoff. And Sven. And Arendelle. And Olaf and Marshmallow. And probably Corona too. Don’t you think so?”

Elsa laughed. 

“You’ll be okay, Anna? You’ll be okay with me helping him even if he did something like kiss me?” she asked, hoping Anna didn’t hear the ending.

“ **HE DID WHAT?!?** ” Anna screamed. “He kissed you?! Like quick peck kiss or like obviously romantic like long drawn out kiss? Was it nice? Was it weird? Did you like it? Did you want him to? Oh my gosh. I cannot believe that that happened. That did happen, right?”

Elsa smiled brightly, the color of her cheeks rising from the pale porcelain to a rosy pink hue. Bashfully, she looked down, afraid to be judged by her sister. She was acting like Kristoff was after Anna kissed him for the first time. 

“You like him. You like Hans! **YOU LIKE HANS!!!** ”

“Anna. Stop.”

“You want him to kiss you again, don’t you?”

“Anna.” Elsa said threateningly.

“You have a crush on the man who almost killed you!” Anna exclaimed, in shock.

“Anna. Enough.” Elsa said sternly. She looked at all the moisture coming off of Anna’s mouth and got a devious plan. 

All Anna saw was Elsa putting up her hand in a stop motion. What was actually happening was Anna’s lips freezing together so that she would stop talking for once.

“ **MMMMMMMMMM!!!!!** ” Anna tried yelling.

“Anna, can you let me get a word in? I don’t know if I have a crush on him or not. I told him that I would help him and try to get him some familiarity with his powers. Then he kissed me. I mean, I felt all warm and nice and happy inside. I don’t think this is the same man that tried to kill us. He’s different. He’s more fragile. I’m so confused. On one hand, I think I do have feelings for him. On the other, what will everyone think. My advisors will try and remove me. You’ll want to leave. Kristoff will absolutely detest him. Even if I’m happy, everyone else will be miserable. I should just tell him to go home. I am not meant to be loved. I’m not to be happy in that way. Arendelle will not have a king until Kristoff, I’m afraid. As warm and loved that I felt with his lips on mine, I should just crush it before it develops into something further. It will be better for the kingdom.”

Elsa worked to let down her hair, to hide her hands and the flakes slowly amassing around them.

“I should just leave the falling in love with you, shouldn’t I?” she asked, looking up at Anna as the curls from the updo cascaded down her shoulders. The tears that Elsa was trying to hold back started to fall. 

She removed the magic from Anna’s lips as Anna put her sister’s head in her lap.

“Oh, Elsa…” Anna sympathized, holding her close.

“You deserve love. You deserve happiness. You deserve every little thing in the world. If you think he’s going to make you happy and love you in the way you wish to be loved, don’t let him get away. Go after him. Listen to your heart and let it be your guide. Trust me, you can find love in the strangest places.”

Anna and Elsa both giggled.

“Who thought I could give one of those parental speeches? I sure didn’t think I could. But look at me! I just gave advice!” Anna said happily.

Moments passed as Elsa laid on the bench, her head resting in her sister’s lap.

“Hey Anna?” she asked, checking to see if Anna was awake.

“Yes, Elsa.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Elsa.”

One of the last things Elsa felt as she was falling asleep was Anna pulling her closer.

The royals were in the exact same position when Kristoff found them in the morning. He closed the library door and brought the whereabouts of the sisters to Kai and Gerta’s attention, instructing them and the rest of the castle staff to not wake the royal sisters of Arendelle.


	5. The Kindling

A couple of months later…

The leaves of the trees were in the midst of their beautiful transition to maroon, orange, and yellow. The way they looked against the mountains really encapsulated the true beauty of Arendelle and it was one of the main reasons why Elsa loved to live here. As she stepped out from her meeting with the advisors, she smelled the mulling apple cider that was being prepared in the kitchen. She wanted to beat Anna to the pot of cider. If she got there after Anna, it would be gone.

Elsa made her way to the kitchen, grabbing a basket to carry some food and drinks up to her castle. She grabbed a section of a wheel of cheese, some of the cured sausage on the counter, a small loaf of bread baked earlier that morning, and some of the apple strudel from Corona. Rapunzel had sent it as a gift, joking that her chefs had to use the apples before Maximus got to them. At least Elsa thought she was joking. She might not have been.

After looking throughout the kitchen cabinets for the ceramic bottles, she had found them. Elsa quickly went about pouring the cider into a large bottle. With a sly grin on her face, she went back around the kitchen looking for the brandy then corked it, sealing in the heat and warmth. 

_Whether it’s hot or not shouldn’t matter, Hans could just reheat it._ She smiled to herself. _Hans._ She couldn’t stop thinking about him since he kissed her in her castle a few months previously. Did he actually have feelings for her? Did he just kiss her as an act of excitement? Was he just going to use her and overtake her once his powers were strong enough? Elsa had been down the rabbit hole of dark thoughts enough times in her life. She was going to focus on the positives. He kissed her. She liked it. A lot. She wanted to see if it was a mistake or if he had feelings for her too.Their monthly sessions in her castle hadn’t proven anything yet, except that she was a good teacher. Their lessons had been going well. He could now summon the fire power at will and also stop it. She was secretly glad the ice castle was made from her own magic, otherwise she was sure that Hans’ magic would have melted the palace down at least three times now. 

Realizing she almost forgot glasses, she grabbed two from the cabinet. On the way out the door, she grabbed a few oranges, also from Corona, from the fruit bowl and went through the push doors, almost plowing into Kai in the process.

“Fancy seeing you here, Queen Elsa! Did you smell the cider too? Every year I have to race Princess Anna here. It’s like she gets here and then the cider is gone.” Elsa laughed which caused him to laugh too. He looked down and saw the basket. “Where are you headed to?” he asked, curiously. 

“I’m going to go review that new list of suitors you all gave me in my castle. I just want to see all of the leaves and just relax. I get too stressed in this castle with all of you guys breathing down my neck to see what suitor I choose if I choose any. I mean, I just renewed diplomatic treaties with four different kingdoms, continued the freeze with Weaseltown, and confirmed our trade partners for the next year. I think I am fine to disappear for a few days.”

“Of course you are Queen Elsa. You deserve it. I hope you’ll find at least one suitor to your satisfaction. After all, you are twenty-two…”

“Yes, I am twenty-two and quite happy about being that age. I will also not rush to take a suitor’s hand unless I approve of the man. Ever since everyone found out that I could control ice and snow, these lists have only gotten longer. There are princes and dignitaries from Corona, Blavenia, Vakretta, and oh look, even Prince Freluke from who remembers where. Everyone wants my hand because I have powers. I want someone who wants me for me.”

“I know Elsa, but the kingdom…”

“Can function just fine on it’s own with a queen. No one wants to do any harm to us because they know my strength. I can do this on my own for a while, Kai. Do not forget that. Now excuse me, I would like to spend a weekend in my castle and would love to leave before nightfall.”

Elsa turned on her heels, turned down a corridor, and continued walking to the palace entrance when she heard a shout from behind her.

“Elsa! Elsa, hi!” She turned around to see Anna running towards her.

“Anna!” 

Elsa dropped her basket and embraced her sister.

“What have you been up to all day? Did you get a smell of what Cook made? Apple cider! That means winter is coming soon! I can’t wait to go sledding with Kristoff! Maybe we could get Sven to ice skate again!”

The thought of the reindeer sliding around the ice was too funny for Elsa not to laugh.

“I’ve been in an advisor’s meeting for most of the day. Diplomatic relations can be fun sometimes, but I’ve just wanted to get outside all day. The trees along the gates have changed to the most beautiful shades of red, and orange, and yellow. I also just need to get out of the castle. The advisors have been constantly questioning me.”

“Let me guess, Kai is the strongest advocate for ‘a strong diplomatic coupling in the next few years’?” Anna asked, mimicking the advisor. 

“Oh wait, I don’t even need to! There’s the suitor list right there. He really wants you to get married, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah, he does. I just want him to stop bugging me about it. I want a love like Mom and Dad had, like you and Kristoff have, like Rapunzel and Eugene. I want to be happy and be loved for who I am, not what title I hold or what powers I have.”

“Elsa, you’ll find someone. Just like I’ll find myself at the bottom of that pot of mulled cider. It sounds like you have a lot of stuff to think about. I should let you go get that suitor list taken care of. The sooner it’s done, the sooner you’ll come back, right?”

“Yes, Anna. I’ll be back by tomorrow afternoon. I love you.”

“I love you too, Elsa. See you tomorrow!” Anna called out, making a mad dash towards the kitchen.

Elsa stepped out into the sun and changed her dress colors to those of the leaves, maroon, fire orange, and bright yellow. She began her hike up to the castle in the North Mountain. The crisp air was blowing behind her from the fjord, the birds were chirping out their birdsong, and the thought of just being with Hans again excited her. She was finally alone with her thoughts and the only thing she could think about was him.

She now understood how Anna could fall for him. He was just so smooth. His auburn hair reminded her of the flames he could create on his hands. His green eyes reminded her of the leaves right before they began their metamorphosis. He seemed so kind and caring and curious. 

_He seems that way, but what if he is really using this to see what makes my power work? He could destroy me with this. But he seems real. It all seems real. But he could take the crown. He could hurt Anna. He could tear the kingdom apart. On the other hand, he could have feelings for me. Real feelings, not I want to take everything you hold dear and destroy it feelings. There has to be love for him to use his powers, to be able to harness them. It can’t be from his family, his father and brothers hate him. He can’t have any from Anna, he was using her. That has to mean, he… he loves… me. He loves me. He has feelings for me. I should have figured this out sooner!_

Elsa was ecstatic, to say the least. She wanted to jump for joy, but her powers were already ahead of her, swirling magic around her hands. She jumped up in the air for joy, allowing her hands to fire off the magic. Smiling as the flakes of snow fell around her, she wondered if Hans was somewhere and able to see her sudden display of happiness. He had never seen her happy before. He was definitely going to see this side of her most often.

By the time she reached the halfway point to the mountain, Oaken’s Trading Post (And Sauna), Elsa noticed the sun was much closer to the mountain than when she started. Time was passing quite quickly and she wanted to get everything set up before Hans got there.

“Yoooo hoooo! Queen Elsa!”

“Oaken! Hello! How have you been?”

“Business has been well. No more need for big seasonal blowouts! We are the proud post of the Royal Family of Arendelle!”

Elsa looked around for a blanket, something she could bring up to the balcony of her castle and use as a picnic blanket and later as a blanket for the night. She found a red, blue, and white quilted blanket as well a couple of pillows.

“Spending a night in the castle, Queen? Is everything okay? Are you feeling okay?”

“Everything’s fine, Oaken. I just have this nice big scroll to look over.” Elsa said, pulling the scroll out of the basket.

Oaken looked at the heft of the scroll and gasped.

“A real howler of a scroll, eh? Good luck with that Queen Elsa.” He handed her the blanket and pillows in a wooden box.

“Say hello to your family for me Oaken!” Elsa said before walking towards the exit.

“Say hello to Princess Anna and Prince Kristoff for me, Queen Elsa!” Elsa smiled back at Oaken, waved goodbye and left.

Running up the stairs to the castle, Elsa realized that Hans would be arriving at any moment.

“Marshmallow, I’m home!” she said, throwing open the doors to the castle.

Marshmallow was waiting right outside the door. He looked bored.

“Hey buddy! Your big brother Olaf wanted to see you down at the castle gates. He wants to hang out tonight.” Elsa lied, trying to get him to leave before he saw Hans.

Marshmallow made an excited noise and Elsa created a snow cloud above his head so he could survive going down to the village and castle. He ran down the stairs and down the mountain to see his older brother. She giggled to herself seeing him be so giddy.

“Finally! All alone!” Elsa exclaimed.

She was happy for a bit but the panic set in.

“Oh boy. Hans is going to be here before I know it. I need to prepare.”

Elsa ran up to her second floor and started to prepare the blanket and picnic she wanted to have with Hans outside. She opened the balcony doors and spread out the blanket, placing the basket down in the center of it. Taking out the glasses and putting them on each side of the basket, she smiled at her quick handiwork. She grabbed the large scroll from the basket, closed the doors to the balcony, and hastily made her way to the snow chair, hoping to look busy for when Hans got there.

Minutes passed by and Elsa finished looking over a quarter of the scroll. She already knew who she wanted…

“Elsa? Elsa, are you here?”

And he was here!

Elsa closed up the scroll and raced to the edge of the staircase. She decided she’d rather go down the stairs gracefully, and stopped a quarter of the way down them.

“Hello.” Elsa greeted him sheepishly.

“Elsa. You look… magnificent, beautiful.” Hans said breathlessly.

She couldn’t help but blush. 

“Come on up. I have a surprise for you. I think you’ll like it.”

Hans raced up the stairs, following Elsa as quick as he could. He watched her slip outside onto the balcony. He smiled at her deviousness and followed her outside.

His breath was taken away for a second time. Outside was a picnic on the balcony with a complete view of the fjord. The sunset had streaked the sky blue, yellow, orange, and red, providing a stark contrast to the fjord which was a sparkling navy. He smiled as Elsa patted the spot next to her, opened up the basket and picked up the cider. 

“What’s that?” Hans asked her.

“It’s our lesson for today. I want to see how much you can control a reaction to your powers. Warm this cider.”

“I’m warming… cider. You have me warming cider to train me?”

“Oh Hans, just shut up and stop being difficult. Warm the cider.”

Elsa watched as Hans’ hands began to glow, slowly heating the bottle. 

“When should I stop?”

Elsa popped the cork and pointed at the hole. 

“When there’s steam coming out of there.”

They sat there in the silence, waiting for the steam to show. Finally it began to pipe out of the opening.

“There. Now pour us both glasses. Today, I want to relax with you. Your power works directly opposite of mine. That means you have to have love in your life to be able to effectively stop it. In the last few sessions you’ve been able to stop it. I hate to pry, but where is it coming from?”

“Elsa, haven’t you realized? It’s you. I have feelings for you. I don’t know what to call them but they’re there.”

She blushed again.

_Hold it together, Elsa. You’re acting like Anna. You cannot get all doe eyed over this._

“I don’t know what to say…” Elsa finally managed to get out.

“Then don’t say anything.” Hans said smiling, as he put his hand over hers, leaned in and kissed her.

Hans broke the kiss and smiled at Elsa.

Elsa smiled back. She was so happy she could float.

“That was nice. I’m sorry, I’m being awkward. Here’s some food. I brought it from the kitchen. I had to grab some before Kristoff ate everything.”

Hans laughed which caused Elsa to smile again. Her cheeks were hurting because she was smiling so much.

At least an hour passed before they decided to go back inside. Hans was demonstrating his control of his powers for Elsa with some of the food she brought along. Not all of it was gone, but the two were completely full. Elsa walked into the main room, with a very stuffed Hans behind her. 

“Your powers have gotten better. Have you ever made something from the flames? I created this whole thing from my powers, care to give it a try?” Elsa smiling, twirling around, gesturing to the castle. The way she was moving made the dress look like the bottom was kissed by fire.

“What did you have in mind?”

“Well, let’s start small. It’s dark in here and I don’t have any fire powers or anything to create light. Can you do something about that?”

Hans quickly smiled at Elsa. He was afraid but he knew if Elsa had faith in him, he could do it. He raised his hands up, hoping she didn’t see the shaking.

“Hans, breathe and focus. You can do this.”

He smiled and began to focus on the task at hand. The magic danced across his hands and he watched the object take shape. He wanted to make a series of sconces around the middle section of the walls in the second floor. Finally, the sconce was completed. He showed Elsa the geometrically patterned sconce that reminded her of the outside of the castle.

“Can you create them on the walls now? And see if you can do multiple at once. Let’s test your limits.”

Hans raised his hands, envisioned where he wanted them to go, and focused. Two sprouted up. Then four more. Then six more. He finished and started breathing deep

“How did you make this whole castle? I’m winded making those twelve sconces! You make this seem easy and effortless.” Elsa smiled. 

“I hope you’re joking. It’s quite difficult, but you did a great job! These are beautiful. Now let’s see if you could create an eternal flame in each of these.”

Hans focused on one of the sconces and tried to create a flame within it. The spark glinted and then was snuffed out.

“Ugggggghhhhhh…”

“Try again. You can do this.”

He tried again. The spark ignited and the fire began to grow. The excitement grew on his face, only to be wiped away when the fire sputtered out.

“WHAT?!? WHY?! Noooooooo…”

Hans needed the flame to build and actually stay lit. It was starting to get embarrassing. This was Elsa. She was probably laughing and judging him behind his back. He couldn’t keep screwing up. He started focusing again, but this time focusing on the spark in his hands. He slowly grew it out into a fire and made sure that it was self-sustaining before transferring it into the sconce. What Hans didn’t notice was Elsa growing a pile of snow right above his head. By the time Elsa had started paying attention again, Hans was on the last flame. She dropped the pile of snow.

Hans screamed from the cold.

“Did you do that? That was so cold! Do you enjoy doing that to people or something? That was not fair. I was trying to do something nice for you and you just had to be all mean.” Hans said, becoming increasingly more patronizing.

“You know, if you don’t want to stick around, you could just leave and go back to the Southern Isles.”

“Elsa, you know I’m joking right? I could never go back there. I’m too happy here. No one understands me at home. Here, at least I have you. I want to be here.” Hans asked nervously awaiting the answer.

“Good,” Elsa smiled, “I want you here too.”

_Wait. Did I just say that out loud? Nononononono. Vocalizing these things is what happens to Anna, not me. He’s got me all flustered and nervous. I can’t even maintain my cool around him. What are these feelings doing to me?_

Elsa sat herself at the edge of the bed, her head hanging in shame.

Hans created the last flame and joined her on the edge of the bed.

“Tada!” Hans looked around the room at his handiwork.

Elsa scooted closer to him.

“You did a great job, Hans. This is actually very impressive. I’m quite pleased at the progress you’re making. You’re going to be better at this than I am.”

“Hah, Elsa. I don’t think that could be remotely possible. You’re great at all of this magic stuff. I’d be lucky to be every a fraction as good as you. Can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah, ask anything you want.”

“Earlier, you said that you want me here. Why is that?”

“Hans, I have begun to look forward to these monthly meetings with you and not just because I get to exercise my powers. I’ve gotten to open up to you. You can easily use all of these lessons to destroy me, you can have me locked up for treason for helping you, my sworn enemy. You could do all of this, but you won’t. At first I didn’t know why, why you wouldn’t manipulate this to your advantage, why you wouldn’t destroy my whole world. Then I saw you standing over there, broken, scared, alone and I knew. The Hans I first met was gone, destroyed, annihilated. He’s not there anymore, but this Hans… You… You’re kind, and gentle, and unsure. You want to make sure you’re doing the right thing and you’re conscious of what you’re doing and want to make the best of everything. You could have let your power consume you, but instead you wanted it to enhance you. You’ve changed.”

“I let love into my life. I could have easily let these fires consume me and kill me. I almost wanted them to. I reached out to you but there was no way you could have wanted to see me. You granted me that pardon to show mercy, not that you wanted to give it to me. I wrote that letter in a state of desperation. I was terrified of these powers. I was so alone. Worst of all, I had completely shattered the trust of the only person that could help me. When I saw you at the ball, I was in knots. I needed your help, but I thought you would kill me or throw me in the dungeon. I did not believe you would grant me this mercy. You took a chance on me and saved me from rock bottom, from my destruction, from myself. You are right, Queen Elsa, I have changed. On that night, the night of the ball, I did something I did not think was conceivable for myself. The moment you walked into the ballroom that night, I felt a warmth in my body I had never felt before. I thought it was just my powers manifesting themselves in a new way, but there was no fire, and for once, my powers seemed to be more in control of themselves. It was then when I finally realized it. I had begun to fall in love with you.”

He turned towards Elsa, who was smiling and a little pink. Before he even could process what was happening, Elsa kissed him. Breaking away, she smiled.

“You can call me Elsa,” she smiled, her core all warm and fuzzy.

“Okay, Elsa, my queen,” he said, smiling, as he leaned in to kiss her again.

The two kissed again and again through the better half of the night, only stopping when Elsa or Hans had to yawn or whisper sweet nothings to the other. However, after one too many yawns from Elsa, Hans broke the continuous kissing.

“Elsa, I think it’s time for you to go to bed. You keep yawning so much. You must be exhausted. You must have been quite busy earlier.” Hans left the bed and began to walk to the balcony to go grab the blanket.

“Lie down. Let me take care of you,” he told her.

She laid down on her bed, taking everything that happened so far that night in. He loved her. Hans was in love with her and she was falling in love with him. She closed her eyes and smiled. This was one of the happiest moments of her life. She had found romantic love. Sure it was found in the least likely place, but she had found love. With this thought, she started drifting to sleep.  
Hans came in and covered Elsa with the blanket. She looked absolutely radiant, he thought to himself. As beautiful as she looked, he was also reminded of his tiredness. He decided to lay out on the snow chair and create a blanket for himself from his magic. He didn’t want to disturb his queen’s sleep. However, he could not get comfortable in the chair, so in the middle of the night, he snuck into Elsa’s bed with her.

The sunlight of daybreak danced around the crystals of the castle. The lights hit Elsa’s eyelids, gently waking her. She stretched, yawned, and looked next to her. She saw Hans asleep and she smiled, remembering the conversation from last night. Moving closer to him, Elsa put her head on Hans’ chest, happy that she had finally found love. She fell back asleep smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look out for the next chapter in the next coming week!


	6. The Chain Reaction

Elsa awoke to cold water dripping on her face. Groggily, she woke up and saw a hulking white mass in front of her. Her eyes travelled upward to connect with Marshmallow. The snow giant did not look too thrilled to see who was in his creator’s bed. 

“Shit. Shit. Shitshitshitshit.” Elsa muttered to herself, looking past Marshmallow and seeing Olaf, Kristoff, Anna, Sven, Kai and Gerda around the bed. She nudged Hans to wake him up. 

Olaf looked confused. “Is this the Hans? Ooooh! You are this Hans!”

Kristoff looked like he was about to go berserk. Anna looked a little angry but mostly embarrassed. Sven was growling. Kai looked like he was ready to faint, and caught Gerda right as she did.

The silence was deafening. Elsa was terrified. Kai cleared his throat and everyone looked in his direction. 

“Queen Elsa, may I implore you why this traitor to the crown is lying in this bed with you?”

“Uhmmmmm… Does anyone else have anything to say?” Elsa asked nervously.

“Well, while you’re asking. I just want to say how lovely it looks in here. It’s so homely! All the furniture is beautiful and the running water downstairs is a nice touch. Everything looks wonderful!” Anna said, gushing.

“Thank you Anna. And Kai, I can explain.”

Elsa went to get out of the bed.

“Marshmallow, can you please move backwards for me so I can get out?” Marshmallow backed up.

“Thank you. Now, to be able to explain this, I need Hans right here beside me.”

Hans rose from the bed and stood next to Elsa.

“Elsa, are you sure that this is the best idea? I’m sure three quarters of this room wants to kill me.” Hans whispered to her.

“Just follow my lead. Trust me. This is the only way we’ll get out of everything okay.” Elsa whispered back.

Hans nodded.

“As you all know, this is Hans. However, this is not the same Hans that committed all of those heinous acts over a year ago. Physically, yes, but not mentally or emotionally. This is a very different Hans. He’s matured, he’s gotten kinder, he’s… well, uhm… he’s like me.”

Kai, Gerda, Olaf, Marshmallow, Kristoff, and Sven all stood waiting to hear what Elsa meant. Anna was the only one looking like she was going to burst from excitement.

Elsa looked at him pleadingly.

“You all might want to see this.”

Hans’ hands slowly began to glow, getting brighter by the second. Soon the flames began to lick his fingers, slowly forming themselves into a fireball. He stepped out from behind Elsa.

Everyone gasped.

Once Elsa saw how he was controlling the magic, she smiled. She wasn’t nervous anymore, everyone would see in time. That’s when everyone realized how quickly the temperature was increasing in the castle. She looked at Hans with a mischievous grin. The fireballs fell back to flames on his hands and Elsa grabbed both of them.

The room gasped again.

“Anna, can you come here? Come try and hold Hans’ hands.”

Anna moved to her sister and went to hold Hans’ hands. They’re too hot, I can’t. I’ll get burned.”

“Exactly. I can hold his hands, and interact with his magic without getting hurt. Our magic basically cancels the other out.”

“Her magic is the perfect compliment to his. It’s the other half.” Kai muttered.

“I can’t believe this. Are you serious? Are you guys going to forget what he did to Anna all because he has magic now? Anna, did you know about his magic?” Kristoff yelled, looking visibly distraught. 

“Kristoff, I was going to tell you, but Elsa --” Anna started.

Kristoff didn’t let her finish. 

“Sven, we’re leaving. I cannot believe this. Elsa’s helping out the person who tried to kill Anna. I’m sorry, I just can’t do this. It’s just too much to handle. How could you Elsa? How could you expect us to be okay with this?” Kristoff stormed off with Sven in tow.

Marshmallow looked like he was about to rush at Hans. 

“Marshmallow, no. No hurting him.”

The snowmonster held his head down and grumbled out what sounded like an apology.

Olaf was cowering behind Marshmallow, afraid that Hans’ powers were going to turn him into a puddle. 

“Olaf, you silly snowman, he’s not going to hurt you.”

“I’m safe?”

“You have your own personal flurry, Olaf. You’re going to be just fine.”

Olaf gleefully followed Marshmallow downstairs.

All there were left from the intrusions were Anna, Kai, and Gerda.

Anna came up to give her sister a hug. 

“He’ll get over it. I swear. He’s still worried that he almost lost me. You know I love and support you, he’ll come around. I promise. I knew he was going to be mad but I didn’t expect him to react the way he did. I have to go talk to him and calm him down. I’ll see you back at the castle?” Anna promised, wrapping her sister in her arms.

“It will be alright. I love you, Elsa.”

Gerda followed right behind Anna, offering apologetic nods to both Elsa and Hans. Gerda did not like quarrels much and she knew that the one at the village castle was going to be a large one. Elsa knew that Gerda would be warning all the other staff not to disturb the Princess and Prince of Arendelle’s room. That left just Kai.

“Queen Elsa. I would just like to remind you that some could see this as an act of treason. Some may question your sanity and try to pass the crown on to your sister and her husband. This is also a smack in the face to all the other countries that the crown has alliances with. You must take this into account going forward, especially when the time comes for a suitor to make visits to Arendelle. Are you going to tell them that you are training Arendelle’s primary persona non grata in magic? Wait a moment, is this where you go and what you do every time you receive a suitor list from your advising counsel?”

“Kai, about that list. You are looking at the only person I would like to court in all the neighboring kingdoms.”

“Queen Elsa, this is the most unreasonable thing that has come out of your mouth! You cannot court him. Our diplomatic relations would suffer dramatically! What would everyone think? All of their imports would disappear. The only ones that would continue would be the Southern Isles and Corona, and that one would only be around because your cousin is the crown princess! It would tear this kingdom apart for you to be with him!”

“Maybe this is a sign from the gods. I am the only companion for him. What will happen if I get angry or sad or depressed again? What will happen when I try to freeze everything again? He is my failsafe. Hans can counteract my magic. We are a balance when we are together. He is the only one that can handle every single aspect of me. Most of these men come from kingdoms in the area that see me as some prize or some threat or some great trophy. Hans sees me as me and completes the only part of me that I thought no one could complete. He is the only man for me, or can you tell me of any other fire-wielding royalty or any ice-wielding royalty? If you can, I will pursue those options. If not, I’m afraid you are stuck with Hans.”

“Queen Elsa, I cannot.”

“Then I guess, I will continue to court Hans.”

“Queen Elsa, this is not a most prudent decision but I understand you must follow your heart. Do not be surprised at the consequences of your actions. There will be ramifications.”

“Queen Elsa. Prince Hans.” Kai said, bowing to each while leaving.

Elsa plopped down on the bed and began to cry.  
“I knew this would happen. I get this close to love and something horrible happens and ruins the whole thing. My crown will be contested if I continue, but my heart will be if I don’t. I’m so confused. I just wish everything would work out.”

“Elsa. Elsa, honey. Relax. You cannot get worked up all over this. It’s all my fault. If I wasn’t here, you wouldn’t be in this position. I should just go back to the Southern Isles. I’d be less of a nuisance that way.”

Hans had his arm around Elsa, pulling her close, trying to comfort her.

“Please don’t Hans. I can’t even think what may happen if you get upset, your powers would destroy your whole land. You need to stay safe and that you do that best here.”

“We’ll figure this out. We have to.” Hans rested his head on top of Elsa’s and the two continued to hold each other. The overwhelming feelings of dread continued to wash over them. Neither one of them wanted to bring up the flurries falling from the ceiling.

Meanwhile in the Arendelle castle stables, Anna and Kristoff were exchanging some words.

“Anna, how could you not tell me? Why did you keep that, that whole thing from me? How much did you know?” Kristoff yelled, trying to comprehend what all of this meant.

“Because I knew you would react like this! Because Elsa was finally happy and I’m happy for her and we are the only two that could be on her side in all of this, but you decided to not listen to her and storm off. Do you think I’m happy that it’s Hans that she fell for? No. I’m not. I’m angry that it’s him, but I am happy she’s happy because she is my sister. My blood. Frankly, she was the only thing I had for years, but she kept herself behind a door. Mama and Papa were gone and she was behind a door, but I at least had her. Now, she’s opening up to me and we finally have each other fully involved in each other’s lives. I have seen and felt her completely miserable. You should know that. She almost died once she thought I was dead AND I HAD TO WATCH IT HAPPEN! She was willing to sacrifice everything for me and I sacrificed everything for her. I don’t expect you to fully understand what this means, but if she’s happy, I’m happy. I’m not going to question it even though I don’t agree with it all the way. She is the only thing I have in this world. She is my sister. If she said he changed, he changed. And if she’s happy with him, that’s all I care about. I don’t want to see my sister be a shell of herself again just because people weren’t supportive of her. All of this is almost exactly what happened when she accidentally hurt me. Everyone is freaking out and she is going to isolate herself again. So, you know what, Kristoff? You’re either going to have to get used to him around. Put up with it or shut up. I am not seeing my sister hurt ever again if it’s something I can prevent.”

She grabbed Kjekk’s paddock door and guided him out by the reins. 

“Now if you excuse me, I need to go back to her castle to see how she is doing.”

Anna slammed the door behind her and her horse, leaving a very speechless Kristoff and an intimidated Sven behind.

Kjekk managed to get Anna up to the North Mountain in record time. She quickly climbed up the stairs, to see a stunning sight in Elsa’s bedroom. Hans’ head was resting against Elsa’s, his hands glowing with warmth to soothe her, their eyes were closed, and he was whispering something to her. She could tell that the two were both crying previously, the tear tracks were visible on both of them. Her heart wanted to break, but she realized she could make out what they were both saying.

“Hans, I don’t want to say goodbye. I’m falling for you.”

“I wish I could stay, Elsa. I want to explore this as much as you do, but if you think it’s best for me to go, I’ll leave.”

“No.” Elsa whispered, the tears falling again. 

The flurries followed suit, snow gently tumbling from the ceiling. 

“I can’t get in the way of you and your sister, of the crown, of your kingdom. You have too much to lose. You can’t sacrifice all of that for me. I cannot let you do that.”

Anna then felt a hand around her waist. She turned to see Kristoff.

“Kristoff! How? When? Why?” she whispered.

“You love your sister more than anything. If you think that this would be good for her and if her happiness makes you happy, even though I hate this guy’s guts, I’ll try and put up with it. She’s your sister and my sister in law and most of all, my queen. I’ll try and be more understanding.” Kristoff whispered.

“Kristoff… Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” she squealed, throwing herself against him and kissing him on the cheek.

“Anna?” Hans called out in confusion.

“Kristoff?” Elsa asked, echoing Hans’ sentiment.

“Elsa, Hans,” Kristoff began, icily saying Hans’ name, “I would like to formally apologize. I made a rash judgement on this relationship but as someone pointed out to me, it is your love life and your happiness at stake. As my sister, I should be more supportive of your future decisions. You're my family, Elsa, and I should be understanding. I’m sorry. Hans, if you break this woman’s heart or hurt her in any way, I will find you and make sure you never hurt someone in this family ever again. I do not trust you, but you are making my sister happy so I will have to see for myself if you really have changed for the better. If you have, I’m sure we’ll get along, but if you haven’t, you better watch it.”

Hans was beginning to think it might have been prudent to wear the brown pants.

Anna noticed the nervousness and began to start attempting to calm the tension.

“What he means is that we are both behind you two all the way through this. We love you, Elsa and Hans, I’m sure if you really have changed, you’ll be part of the family before you know it. Also, we know diplomatic ties are going to be strained. What if Kristoff and I go on a diplomatic tour? It might be nice to see the Princess and Prince of Arendelle go out to the kingdoms we have ties with. We could go to Blavenia, Vakretta, Prince Freluke’s kingdom - I can’t remember it’s name, oooooh! We can even go to Corona! We could stay a week or two at each place and be back a few weeks before the Winter Solstice, your birthday! Anyways, we didn’t get a honeymoon after our wedding.”

Elsa looked at Hans and then smiled at Anna. 

“That’s actually a very good idea, Anna! A diplomatic tour might appease all of the dignitaries in the neighboring kingdoms and you guys could go visit our aunt and uncle as well as Rapunzel and Eugene. You could do that. That would work. You guys might want to go back to the castle and have Kai draft up an itinerary for the trip. Depart as soon as you can. Thank you, Anna. Kristoff, thank you too, you both might actually save the crown from suffering. I know the neighboring kingdoms are not going to take this well. We might want to get them on our good side now.”

The couple smiled at Elsa and Hans and swiftly left from the ice castle, excited for the little getaway.

Hans pulled Elsa into a warm embrace. 

“Everything is going to be okay, Elsa.”

The new couple looked each other smiling. Elsa excitedly kissed Hans, giggling from happiness.

“We’re going to get to try this out, Hans!”


	7. Incipience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that this chapter took way too long. Real life got in the way and I didn't get to prep any chapters. So what I'm trying to say is that this chapter is going to come up, I'm going to disappear again for a little bit and then I'm going to write. A LOT. of. content. for this fic. And I will create a schedule and actually release things on time! *GASP!* What a novel concept! I'll write about another two or three chapters and then release one every two weeks. This should give me enough time to write for you guys as well as work on actual schoolwork. Thank you for everyone who still reads this fic even though I am absolutely horrible at regular updates.

Anna and Kristoff had been gone for about a month. Elsa was quite happy that her sister wanted to be a part of the diplomatic process of Arendelle, but was also sad that Anna was gone. The castle was almost too quiet. She missed the sound of Anna running around and bumping into things and the inevitable “Oh, I’m so sorry!” that came after accidentally running into one of the castle staff. Kristoff’s pungent odor was gone as well. She was all alone in the castle and that made her a little bit uncomfortable. She shook the negative thoughts from her mind as she reached the advising room of the castle. Kai told her that Anna and Kristoff’s tour had been going well.

Elsa walked into the advisor’s room and went to sit herself at the head of the table. Aud, the Master of Coin, was to her left. Halgeir, the Master of Law, sat beside her. Kai sat opposite Elsa at the other head of the table. Erland, the Grand Herald, sat opposite Halgier. Finally, Elsa’s eyes rested on Vidar, the Master of Arms. He controlled everything from hunting to war. The advisors looked at her with looks of glee. Obviously the tour was going smoothly otherwise they wouldn’t be so happy.

Elsa let Aud speak first. The woman was always quick to get to the point and Arendelle was fine enough financially. 

“Queen Elsa, the current exports of reindeer meat and wolf pelts as well as plentiful harvest of grapes for ice wine and fish have left the crown with quite an amount of wealth. We have not had too many expenses in the past month, just the standard for operating the castle and public square. I project that within the next month, we will receive a greater amount of income due to the royal tour. This excursion is going to be a most prudent move to bring residents of other kingdoms to Arendelle. I anticipate a greater amount of money to come in the winter from tourism. There is talk of the trader Oaken and his family coming down to the main village to open up a second sauna for his husband to run. This will also increase revenue from the area. The tourists will love it. Also with your birthday on the horizon, we will definitely have the annual increase in tourism. Everyone loves to see the queen. That is all I have to say, Queen Elsa.”

“Thank you Aud. I am glad to hear that we have more than we thought. Halgeir, do you have anything to bring up?”

“Madame Queen, I only must inform you that this diplomatic tour is strengthening relations with every region your sister has stepped foot in. The charm of Princess Anna’s presence has not gone unnoticed. The only thing that could strengthen relations further is a royal marriage or courtship.”

Kai coughed to hide the fact he almost started laughing. However he caught himself a little too late and Elsa glared at him across the table. He had better not tell the whole court what he had seen a month ago.

“Halgeir, thank you for that great news. Erland, do you have anything to add to this? Any further news?”

“My queen, from my last correspondence with our foreign dignitaries, it seems as though the Princess and Prince of Arendelle are in Touraine visiting the Chaumont royalty, King Adam and Queen Belle. They have just visited Queen Arianna and King Frederic along with Princess Rapunzel and Prince Eugene in Corona for two weeks. On their itinerary, they are to stay there for two weeks to celebrate the birth of the Crown Prince Jaques Chaumont of Touraine as well as continue their diplomatic duties. They have brought with them a chest with the Arendelle crocus and Chaumont rose intertwined in the center for the young prince. After this, it will be an additional week for them to complete the voyage back to Arendelle.”

“Thank you very much, Erland. It sounds like everything is going perfectly with the tour. I am thrilled at the reception of my sister and her husband to our partners and friends. Vidar, am I to assume that everything is perfectly fine with our hunts and there is no threat of war?

“Queen Elsa, there is nothing to fear. No one would like to start anything with Arendelle. The word is everyone is afraid of the power you would have, should you join the battle.”

The whole room laughed. Everyone knew Elsa would fight to protect her land, but she was a very peaceful person.

“If that is all --”

Kai stood up.

“Queen Elsa, that is not all. I believe you have an announcement to make.” Kai looked at her with a smirk on his face.

Her heart fell in her stomach. He was going to make her tell everyone.

“I believe it was concerning the event we’re having soon?” Kai asked, messing around with her.

“Oh yes! As soon as my sister and her husband return from their tour, I would like to hold a small feast to celebrate a successful tour and pray for a length of prosperity for Arendelle.” 

Elsa smiled at everyone at the table, and then shot Kai an icy look.

“That is all. Thank you for a quick meeting everyone.”

The advisors all stood, bowed to Elsa, and exited the room.

“Oh Kai. If it please you, could you please stay in the room? I would like to speak to you.”

“Yes, Queen Elsa.”

Kai looked incredibly nervous which for some reason satisfied Elsa.

“Alright Kai. We have three weeks to prepare something. We need to create a feast and a way to tell the advisors that I have chosen to court Hans. This needs to go as smoothly as possible and the news of this event needs to be overshadowed by something. We need a distraction and we don’t even have one. I mean, Kristoff and Anna will be there but that won’t be anywhere near as big of a distraction as we need. It’s like we need a nuptial to overshadow this news. My sister and her husband are returning in three weeks and then the next day is the feast. We need something. Anything. Kai, do you have anything? Because I don’t have any clue on what we could do. I’m stuck. Everyone is going to hate me and I will no longer have a crown. And it will be Anna’s and they’ll throw me in the dungeon for treason. I didn’t realize falling in love was treasonous but I did fall in love with the traitor to the Arendelle crown, which I guess does make me a traitor. That’s it! I guess these are my last three weeks in the castle! I’m doomed!”

Elsa couldn’t stop pacing back and forth, constantly fiddling with her hands, her magic causing the room temperature to drop. She needed something to take their minds off of Hans. Something grand. Anna would know what to do in this situation. Anna was always good at improvising. She was good at distracting everyone. Elsa just wasn’t.

“Elsa!” Kai yelled, breaking Elsa out of her trance. “We will think of something. Just stop worrying about this. Just work with Hans to get his powers under control. I heard he almost lit half the forest on fire after he fell when Sitron got spooked.”

“How did I not hear about this? I should go see what’s wrong. He is still staying in the guest cottage at the edge of the village, correct?” she implored. With all of the updates coming in from the various kingdoms about her sister’s tour, she had almost forgotten that Hans didn’t have a full grasp of his powers. Even she didn’t have a complete idea of what he could do. Elsa gathered her books and left the room, a cold breeze following behind her.

The village was quiet, wondering why Elsa looked around, suddenly spotting the dark storm clouds above the fjord quickly moving towards the village. She silently cursed to herself and began to run. The thunder ominously rumbled causing Elsa to become uneasy. She absolutely hated storms, specifically lightning. It always seemed that whenever she used her powers in the summer when there was to be a storm, the lightning would always worsen and be more intense. 

She reached the cottage just as a lightning bolt hit the lightning rod on the top of the tallest tower of the castle. Hans opened the door at the sound of the hit and instead of finding what happened, he saw one very anxious looking queen of Arendelle. 

“Come in. Quick, before the storm reaches,” Hans greeted, beckoning her inside.

Elsa thanked him graciously, stepping inside. She smiled as Hans went to put water on for coffee. He set the kettle in the fire and joined Elsa in one of the chairs.

“It’s been a while, Elsa.” Hans commented. 

Elsa sighed. It was true she hadn’t been around in a while. With the tour going on, she’d been in the throne room and the advisors room every morning until mid-afternoon discussing what new things were going on with the tour, their kingdom, and with upcoming meetings. She had been thinking about their powers, their budding relationship, and even how they were going to cover it to her advisors.

“Hans, I’m sorry. Everything has just been crazy around the castle. Anna and Kristoff have been gone for over a month now. The advisors are currently hounding me to try and get married to create a powerful bond between kingdoms. I’ve just felt a little overwhelmed without her around. She was always better and trying to avert the advisors and creating a warm presence within the castle. Without her around, it’s just felt empty. It’s like she really is gone for good.”

“Elsa, whenever you feel that way, you can come here. You have a place here whenever you feel alone.”

He drew closer to her, ready to envelop her in an embrace. The heat from his palms was radiating towards her, reminding her of how much she loved to be near him. The warmth just felt nice on her. It was reminiscent of summer days on the fjord when she was younger. His arms enveloped her and she felt at home.

“It’s all going to be okay. Anna and Kristoff will be back before you know it and the advisors will manage to fix whatever collateral damage occurs when we announce our courtship. It will be okay.” 

His voice wavered. As Elsa looked up, she saw Hans pull away and got a glimpse of his hands. There were bright streaks arching across them.

“Hans, what is that?” she asked, the panic rising in her voice.

“Uhhhhhh… Elsa, what is that? I have never seen that before.” Hans responded nervously.

“Is that what our magic looks like mixed together? It looks like the lightning outside.” Elsa responded, attempting to identify the bright flashes arching across of Hans’ palms.

The two stood in awe, both gazing at Hans’ hands and the flashing across them.

“It’s. Lightning.” Hans breathed, unable to fully wrap his head around it.

“Let’s try something. First, we’ll have to go outside. I’ll use my magic as hard as I can. You’ll use your powers as hard as you can. We’ll try to intersect them and we’ll see what happens. The worst that can happen is that we have a giant bunch of lightning or we have absolutely nothing. The good thing is that we already know that our powers can’t hurt us. So, through this whole thing, we’ll be fine.”

Hans nodded in agreement and went to walk outside, only to remember the kettle on the fire. He quickly took it off and ran after Elsa outside.

Elsa watched Hans step into the garden. She waited for the signal that he was going to begin using his powers. This was reckless and highly dangerous but she was far too curious about his powers, and theirs together, to see what would happen.

She braced herself against the ground as she watched Hans do the same. The next thing she saw was his hands rising, readying his own power. She mimicked him and together they began to use their powers.

Ice crystals began to dance across her vision as they intertwined with the embers of Hans’ magic. She walked closer to him, her powers slightly intensifying. The ice crystals grew heavier as the embers slowly created flames. She reached his side, the wind howling around them.

“Hans!” she called out, “Create balls of fire and throw them through the crystals.”

He did as she asked and they were immediately greeted to bolts dancing across their vision. 

Hans amped it up and began emitting fire from his palms in blasts, the fire turning into energy the second it hit an ice crystal. It was almost too much, but it was beautiful. The lights surrounded the couple. It was blinding, and magnificent, and dangerous. Elsa’s mind quickly jumped to the negative consequences to the villagers around them. She stopped producing the ice crystals and watched as Hans’ bolts diminished to the licks of fire in his hands.

“We did it.” they exclaimed at the same time.

“We created lightning!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


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